Spectrum sale: Vodafone may skip 700MHz on pricing

After Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India also indicated that it won’t rush in with bids for 700 MHz radiowaves due to the lack of handsets and equipment, apart from the high reserve price proposed by telecom regulator Trai.TNN | Updated: February 04, 2016, 20:17 IST

NEW DELHi: After Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India also indicated that it won’t rush in with bids for 700 MHz radiowaves due to the lack of handsets and equipment, apart from the high reserve price proposed by telecom regulator Trai.

Vodafone also said the government needs to fix problems with the 3G spectrum before the next round of auctions. “The issue of interference should be resolved. It’s like buying damaged goods and not being able to return. The moment you have interference, your call drops... it is at cross purposes with call drop regulations. We are happy to pay for it as long as it works well. There is empirical evidence that has demonstrated that it doesn’t work well,” Vodafone India COO Naveen Chopra told TOI on Wednesday after announcing the launch of 4G services in Delhi NCR.

The service is currently available in Gurgaon and will be expanded to other parts of the NCR in the next few weeks. The company has 4G spectrum in five circles, including Kolkata, Kerala, Karnataka and Mumbai, where services are due to be launched.

Asked about the plan for other circles, Chopra said Vodafone intended to focus on the existing four circles. “Spectrum is a matter of interest always, where we participate, how we do (in the auctions) will depend on the terms of the auctions.” On Trai recommendations, Chopra said the government’s roadmap for offering more spectrum was welcome but several issues, including price needed to be addressed. “There needs to be a balance between the interests of the exchequer and the what operators will be able to afford.”

On 700MHz band, he said: “We will see when we see the eco-system around it develops either at the network level or at the device level. It is much too early (to comment). The benefits should justify the price. It is difficult to do maths on it as the propagation characteristics are not different from 800MHz. In which case, what would be the benefit when we compare to other bands. It looks overpriced to us.”